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The Countdown to the 2018 Winter Olympics

21 December 2017

The Winter Olympics are coming to South Korea. The setting is PyeongChang, a resort town in the northern Gangwon province. Organizers promise this year’s games will be the most thrilling Winter Olympics in history, with more gold medals than ever before. Book Olympic charter flights to PyeongChang, South Korea now to guarantee your place.

WRITTEN BY

Claire Ellis

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The XXIII Olympic Winter Games, one of the most hotly-anticipated sporting events in recent memory, will span 17 days from February 9 - 25, 2018. Athletes will compete in seven sports: biathlon, bobsleigh, curling, ice hockey, luge, skating and skiing. A total of 102 gold medals will be awarded, four more than at Sochi in 2014.

The International Olympic Committee is working to capture the imaginations of younger audiences with updates that will get viewers talking (and more importantly, tweeting). Eight new events are planned, including the thrilling big-air snowboarding competition, where athletes launch into the air from a steep ramp and perform daring tricks to impress the judges. Snowboarding superstars such as Shaun White and Jamie Anderson are expected to put on a spectacular show.

This year’s Games are also taking strides towards gender equality. PyeongChang will host the largest number of events for women in the history of the Olympics, as well as the most women’s and men’s mixed events - including the first curling mixed doubles event, with one woman and one man making up each team, and the first alpine skiing team event, with two women and two men from each team racing in a best-of-four competition.

The athletic events and the surrounding pomp and circumstance will take place in 13 venues throughout PyeongChang and neighboring Gangneung. The scenic PyeongChang Mountain Cluster is the backdrop for the ski and sliding events, while skating, hockey and curling are held at the Gangneung Coastal Cluster, 30 minutes away by car.

Six new spaces have been constructed for the Games, including a $78 million Olympic Stadium to hold the opening and closing ceremonies. The opening ceremony takes place on Friday, February 9 and details are kept tightly under wraps, however an homage to the host country’s culture is always expected. The Olympic Cauldron, which houses the Olympic Flame, is already in place, but it is unclear who will ignite it. Many Koreans are hoping to see the honors go to Yuna Kim, a beloved figure skater who won gold for South Korea in Vancouver in 2010.

Olympic charter flights and planning your visit

Traditional South Korean architecture in PyeongChang covered in heavy snow

If all goes as planned, organizers expect to see over a million spectators over the course of the Games. To handle demand, as many as 10 new hotels have been built in PyeongChang and the surrounding areas in the past few months. As the Games are located just 95 miles from Seoul, a newly constructed bullet train will link the two cities.

Train tickets are available for purchase now, but hotel rooms will be harder to find as the event approaches, so be sure to book your room well in advance. Visit the official website for information on how to purchase tickets to the events and the ceremonies based on your country of residence.

If you’re making the trip to the Winter Olympics, charter flights are the most convenient (and luxurious) way to travel. And with a million visitors expected to attend, it’s important to plan ahead. Most commercial passengers will land into Seoul and transfer to the crowded train to PyeongChang.

Instead, direct Olympic charter flights can whisk you straight to Yanyang Airport, just one hour from PyeongChang, where we’ll arrange for a chauffeur take you the rest of the way. Book your private jet charter to PyeongChang, South Korea with Air Charter Service now to guarantee your landing slot.